S.C. House approves Pint Bill, moves on to governor for signature

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For all the hiccups and hurdles South Carolina’s Pint Bill has faced recently, this week has seen the bill fly through the state Legislature. On Thursday, the amended bill successfully made it through the S.C. House of Representatives with a 73-37 vote.

As expected, the bill – which passed out of the Senate on Wednesday – came up against little opposition in the House. Lawmakers concurred with the changes made from the version they originally passed.

It’s fully expected that Gov. Nikki Haley will sign off on the legislation. Once it becomes law, the changes immediately go into effect. She’ll likely sign the bill within the next couple of weeks.

Pint Bill passes S.C. Senate

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After finally making it to the floor of the South Carolina Senate on Tuesday for debate and a vote, the state’s Pint Bill on Wednesday finally passed the chamber with a final vote.

The bill passed its first test on the chamber on Tuesday with a 31-1 vote. Unsurprisingly, the only “nay” vote came from Sen. Mike Fair (R-Greenville). You’ll recall Fair’s objection resulted in negotiations between supports and opponents, which ended in the compromise the Senate eventually passed.

So, what’s next? The bill now goes back to the S.C. House of Representatives, which must approve the changes made from the version they originally voted on. Since there was little objection in that chamber, it’s unlikely the bill will have to jump over any more hurdles. Once the House approves it, it goes before Gov. Nikki Haley to sign into law.

The bill will likely be signed by the end of the month.

Pint Bill passes 1st reading in Senate

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Things have been pretty quite on the Pint Bill front since a compromise was reached on May 9. But Tuesday morning, the bill finally made it to the floor of the S.C. Senate for what turned out to be a successful first vote.

By a vote of 31-1, the bill received a second reading in chamber. That next and final reading is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday. Following that vote, the bill goes back to the S.C. House of Representatives, which must – and very likely will – approve the proposed changes from the version they passed earlier this year. After that, it’s on to Gov. Nikki Haley to sign into law.

No word on how quickly the changes will go into effect if and when the bill becomes law.